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22-11-2010, 18:23
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 61
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Miami Boat Show
Hello all, my wife and I are trying to put together a trip to the 2011 boat show">Miami boat show. We would like some advice on places to stay that are nice(as in not fleabags) and close enough to walk to the show (if possible) We will be going to the strictly sail portion of the show for sure. I have never been to this show so any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. One question for sure is how far the Hyatt Regency is from the show. We were looking at staying there. It looks like it is right across from the convention center but mapquest puts the convention center 6+ miles from the strictly sail location. What am I missing?????
Thanks,
Mark
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22-11-2010, 19:04
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 267
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Hi Mark,
Miamarina probably IS six miles from the convention center, but there will be free buses going back and forth in a timely manner. Miamarina is at the west end of Port Blvd as it crosses over the Biscayne Bay, and the convention center is kinda in the middle of the north end of South Beach.
There is a nice hotel overlooking the ICW where the show was last time, at the marina just north of the Venetian Causeway opening bridge. If you stay there, there is a good bus system across the Venetian Causeway through Miami Beach that will take you to the Convention Center, or within a few blocks of it if you don't want to make a transfer. Or you can walk the two miles or so from the hotel, and then you can ride the free bus back and forth to the Miamaria part. It is a nice walk. Don't get run over by a Rolls Royce.
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23-11-2010, 16:24
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#3
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Eternal Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Boat: Vancouver 36 cutter????
Posts: 620
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I don't know your requirements but you might try kayak.com and use Miami Beach Convention Center as your starting point. The MBS is a great event for sailors, there is excellent free transportation from selected points (which can be a real benefit as taxi's during the show can be hard to find), and lots of boats to look at.
Grab the brochure from the 2010 event and you'll see where the bus routes run. Choose a hotel that meets your requirements close to the bus route.
__________________
Capt. Douglas Abbott
USCG/MCA IV/M.I./C.I. 500-ton Oceans
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23-11-2010, 19:01
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: W Florida
Boat: Still have the 33yo Jon boat. But now a CATAMARAN. Nice little 18' Bay Cat.
Posts: 7,086
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We have stayed at the Holiday Inn which is basically across the street from the Strictly Sail show. We spent most of the time on the docks as is our preference so our choice was to be near the boats and the food. Lots of food choices.
The center with all the booths is a bus ride away. Long line to get on the bus but plenty of like minded people to talk to.
We get there the evening before and walk the docks to look at the boats even though you're not supposed to. We were only asked to leave by the Lagoon people. The rest were friendly.
Have fun.
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23-11-2010, 19:09
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#5
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Sponsoring Vendor
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Hollywood, Fl.
Boat: FP Athena 38' Poerava
Posts: 3,984
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This year it's back at Bayside for the Sail show. Last years location was terrible. Ya'll stop by and say Hi
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28-11-2010, 08:18
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2009
Boat: 1998 PDQ 36 Capella Classic
Posts: 69
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We are going to stay at the Leaminton Hotel. Very close to the show and much cheaper than anything else around. It got good reviews for a "safe, clean, no-frills" hotel.
They don't have a web site, but Travelocity.com will book it for you and there are quite a few reviews on it out there.
Cheers,
Mike
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28-11-2010, 09:47
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,521
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The Miami show is very spread out. I think it's cheaper and easier to not pay a premium (for a given quality) of hotel to be near the show but instead to drive in. Each of the three venues has a large, reasonably priced parking lot right at the location. Never a problem getting parking if you arrive early. We would go an hour before the 10AM opening and have breakfast and chat with other attendees while waiting for the show to open. Quiet and pleasant. We would move between venues using the busses or sometimes just take a taxi which is only about $10 and can save an hour of show time at the height of the bus crowd.
Also, despite the great move back to Bayside, there are fewer and fewer sailboats at Miami. It's still a fun show but you may be disapointed if you are going there for sail.
Finally, the Miami Yacht and Brokerage Show goes on at the same time under different management along Collins Ave. This show is now much bigger than the Miami Boat Show and has a large "New Boat" section as well as brokerage. Last year Grand Banks seemed to have most of their staff and boats at the Brokerage show. Again, very little sail.
Parking at the Brokerage show is difficult and expensive. The show is also over a mile long so you really don't want to walk back to your car. Take a taxi or the free bus from the convention center.
Carl
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06-12-2010, 10:39
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Minneapolis / Bozeman
Boat: Leopard 46
Posts: 51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CarlF
....Also, despite the great move back to Bayside, there are fewer and fewer sailboats at Miami. It's still a fun show but you may be disapointed if you are going there for sail.
Finally, the Miami Yacht and Brokerage Show goes on at the same time under different management along Collins Ave. This show is now much bigger than the Miami Boat Show and has a large "New Boat" section as well as brokerage. Last year Grand Banks seemed to have most of their staff and boats at the Brokerage show. Again, very little sail.....
Carl
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Living in Minnesota, we don't get a lot of opportunities to see many cruising sailboats firsthand. I was thinking of attending the Miami show with my wife to check out some boats and enjoy a warm weekend away from MN. Looking on the official website, there are very few sailboat exhibitors listed. I am concerned that I might be disappointed with the number of boats we can actually tour. Can anyone provide some idea of the amount of sailboats exhibited in prior years?
I am especially interested in checking out some cruising cats since I have some experience with mono-hulls already.
Thanks!
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06-12-2010, 11:34
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 61
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MNLandLoc
Living in Minnesota, we don't get a lot of opportunities to see many cruising sailboats firsthand. I was thinking of attending the Miami show with my wife to check out some boats and enjoy a warm weekend away from MN. Looking on the official website, there are very few sailboat exhibitors listed. I am concerned that I might be disappointed with the number of boats we can actually tour. Can anyone provide some idea of the amount of sailboats exhibited in prior years?
I am especially interested in checking out some cruising cats since I have some experience with mono-hulls already.
Thanks!
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Agreed. My wife and I are coming all the way from Oregon to only view cruising cats. Of course I plan on going on as many boats as I can but I am really only interested in sailing cruising cats. The web site the last time I looked at it left a lot to be desired. My wife emailed Antares and they said they will be there. Discovery yachts is not planning on having their Discovery 50 there. My wife emailed them and they said they had no plans to be in the show. That's all I know so far.
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06-12-2010, 12:45
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 310
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In that Strictly Sail will be back at Bayside Marina, should be quite happy if you are coming down to look at cruising cats & monohulls. Here is the link for the show. Bayside has a wonderfull parking garage with full day parking for $10. As has been mentioned, if you get there by 10AM or before, parking is easy and Bayside is a huge open air retail mall built around the marina. Lots of shopping and dining options on site. In that I live within driving distance, I won't be much help with hotel recommendations.
Official Site of Strictly Sail Miami | Miami, FL
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06-12-2010, 13:20
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: On the boat - Carib, Chesapeake
Boat: 58 Taswell AS
Posts: 1,139
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The best part of the Miami Show is that many companies display their new releases of electronics. The sailboat show is not great.
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